Two cool projects have caught our attention this week. In Bucharest and Bogota, light and projection have taken on new character to create new experiences. It is enough to make many interactive designers in our studio envious and in awe.

Did you know that the city of Bucharest was founded 555 years ago?  To celebrate the occasion they commissioned several artists from around Europe to create a spectacle for the city’s citizens. Over the past weekend, 100,000 plus people attended the “Days of Bucharest” festival to celebrate the city’s anniversary. And to top the event, organizers and five international artists created iMapp Bucharest 555. This five minute and fifty-five secondm(5:55) light show was projected against the 60,000 square foot facade of the Palace of Parliament Building. A whopping 104 20,000 lumen projectors were used to produce the show.

And in other parts abroad: in Bogota, Columbia Team Iregular has debuted a new project of interactive light. The project is called SURFACE  & BOTTOM. It is a two part project featuring projection mapping and sensor-controlled responsive projection. The video below shows it in action, but it works by manipulating the data from motion and sound sensors, mapping light to corresponding triggers. The resulting projections are determined by the level of disruption in the space. And in their symmetrical, rhythmic form, the create pleasing illuminated graphics.

Both of these projects, by their sheer scale or ingenuity, are pushing the limits of what a space can be. The manipulation of light on walls, against buildings, and reactive to a historical moment or sensor data shows us what interesting experiences we might soon be having in more places. Now, if only both of these projects would come to us in NYC so we could see them first hand.

For a bit more info on both of these projects, check out the the creators project write-ups for Bogota and Bucharest.